Electronic Arts have just announced that their digital distribution platform, Origin, will now be offering third-party PC games starting in November. The first wave of publishers to sign a deal with Origin include Warner Bros., THQ and Capcom. This will bring hit titles such as Batman: Arkham City and Saints Row: The Third to Origin, with more games hitting Origin in the coming months.
Origin already has over 100 EA games in its library and adding additional publishers only cements their service into competition against Valve and their digital distribution platform, Steam. David DeMartini (shaken, not stirred, thanks), senior vice president of Origin at EA says:
Since launch, we've had overwhelming support from both publishers and developers across the gaming industry, recognizing Origin as an opportunity to deliver more of their great content straight to consumers across the globe. We're excited to welcome Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ and Capcom as the first publishers to offer their games via Origin.
Origin has over 6 million registered users (which I'm sure over half would be thanks to Battlefield 3), which is not bad at all considering EA launched Origin less than five months ago. In addition to the new licensing deals, Origin users also have several games to look forward to this year. Starting with Star Wars: The Old Republic being an Origin digital exclusive, which launches on December 20. The next version of The Sims and Mass Effect 3 will also bring a bunch of new users to EA's Origin service, too.